Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

The generator starts up fine w/the lever in ths choke posiition.After it is warmed up,I still cant put the lever in the run position otherwise it will stall.I can go 3/4 way to the run position.The fuel is new and I just recently did a tuneup on the generator.Any suggestions?

We need some more info here.Make and Model #?? Although I need more on this its sounds like a carb issue. Did you do anything to the carb while you were at it.

Certainly some fuel related problem. Start with the fuel cap vent. Make sure it's clear. Pull fuel line off at the carb, open the fuel valve and see if you get good fuel flow. If that's OK, pull float bowl from carb and inspect for the usual dirt/water contamination. If that's good, inspect your float and float needle for correct adjustment and proper operation. If that still doesn't fix the problem, pull carb and give it a thorough cleaning.

I've seen this several times, and frequently found a blocked fuel passage in the carb - most likely an idle passage near the throttle valve. Choking the carb restricts the airflow, decreases the venturi vacuum, and forces a richer air/fuel mixture. For whatever reason, you're not getting enough fuel into the combustion chamber (choke off) when the engine is at idle

Does the engine run OK at speed with the choke engaged? If so, I'd say it's time to give your carb a cleaning. Do check the fuel cap vent first, though. Cleaning the carb is not very difficult, although it really helps to have compressed air handy. It's a routine that anyone with intermittent-duty engines gets familiar with sooner or later. Good luck.

yes it does old crow and I will try to get to it this weekend.thanks for the suggestions.

mikiewest!       had a 3 1/2 hp 1800 watt coleman generator did the same thing this last deer hunting. so far you have got good advice.(cap,fuel line,etc back to the carb)my cure was to pull the carb and clean as good as possable with carb cleaner,spray out all passages with air.that's what i did and it ran better but still wasn't 100%.after the carb cleaning and the test running i then started the generator and ran it full throttle and started spraying seafoam a little at a time(so it would stumble but not kill) with a squirt bottle into the carb intake.the engine drawing the seafoam  worked to clear the internal passages after about a dozen squirts.it worked so well i had to set the governor down some to put the voltage at the ac outlet down from 128 volts to 124 volts.it ran the best on the third notch of choke and every notch less it started to stumble more.stumbling the worst with no choke at all.

Same symptoms, same cure.

mkd55 wrote:

Can someone explain how it ""cleared the internal passages"" if, when you spray through the intake it never sees the internals of the carb but rather goes to combustion at that point.What am I missing?

hirschallan wrote:
It was a bit confusing as written, but this quote from the second line should clear it up:

<< my cure was to pull the carb and clean as good as possable with carb cleaner,spray out all passages with air. >>

He went on to say that the Seafoam brought everything back to normal, if I read it correctly. There must have been a real $h*tload of carbon built up on his piston and valves for Seafoam to make that much of a difference. Maybe it's coincidental, and the carb just took some time before it coughed up the last gunk that was clogging it.

Or, maybe it's just voodoo.
                  

Can someone explain how it ""cleared the internal passages"" if, when you spray through the intake it never sees the internals of the carb but rather goes to combustion at that point.What am I missing?
    i also dumped some seafoam (approx 1 0z. ) in the cylinder and let it sit for 5 minutes as well as approx 4 oz. in the fuel tank. once started it was ran approx 10 minutes while periodically spraying in the carb.

BUMP

mkd55 wrote:
I still think it was the carb cleaning, and not the Seafoam, that cured your idle problem. Sometimes it takes a bit of runtime after re-installing to completely unclog a carb. That's why you want to soak and clean it thoroughly while off the engine. You may have needed the Seafoam if you had heavy carbon deposits, but it's doubful pouring it into the gas tank had much effect on your carb. I can guarantee that spraying it down the throat had no effect whatsoever. If only it were that easy...

In order for SeaFoam to work on the carb internals, it needs to be mixed with the fuel is sufficient quantity to do what it claims it's supposed to do. Blowing it into the venturi will do nothing for the carb. It might lift some carbon from the valves, piston crown and cylinder head but that's about it.

I just put a whole can of seafoam with about 1/2 gallon of gas and now I can take the choke off and the gen doesn't stall.